MIDDLEBURY — Folks driving south on Route 7 Tuesday from New Haven into Middlebury were doing a double-take as they passed near Smart Move Storage, north of the Exchange Street intersection. A huge, smoke-free flame was shooting from the Vermont Gas gate station, in what company officials were calling a controlled burn related to an ongoing inspection of the Addison Natural Gas Project pipeline.
Vermont Gas spokesperson Beth Parent said the burn was tied to the recent insertion of a “smart tool” at the Colchester end of the pipeline, which is feeding natural gas to Middlebury and eventually to Vergennes and other Addison County communities. The smart tool is being pushed, by pressure, through the pipeline. The residual gas from the pressure within the pipeline is being burned at the Middlebury gate station, according to Parent.
The burn is odorless and will not produce smoke, Parent said. The burn is slated to peter out sometime this Friday, March 2.